Aa
I am trying a treatment in Mexico.
I was on interferon treatment for 1 year. Very rough time. Hemoglobin always low need extra injections for that. Depression and so very tired. At the end Virus was undetectable. I have G type 1. 1 - and half years later it is back (it may have come back sooner but too scared to take the test) I am a musician who lives and works presently in Mexico. My lifestyle has not been the best - though I eat and sleep well. Lots of fresh fish, veg , fruit , walking , swimming all readily available here cheap. I have been seeing a local Dr. here in Mexico she has prescribed me a very different regime For the present she has prescribed l-ornitina L-Aspartato and Valinir just tablets and a soluble you drink 3 x a day for one week.. Next month when I am ready I will begin 3 months 3x a week injections of Eritiopoyctina. The first meds have left me a little tired, I finished them today. I have joined this forum to see if anyone is interested in following my progress. What my treatment cost tax payers and the Canadian government (as I was lucky enough to qualify for a program) was astronomical! The cost here in Mexico? you can pay for it if you cut out starbucks for 3 months. If this interests anyone or anyone has questions about my 1st treatment I would like to post my responses. My lifestyle did relapse after the treatment - As I have G type 1 the hardest to cure 43% and I was a very good girl throughout the treatment. I blame no one. Maybe it didn't work or my lifestyle helped the virus return. I am not encouraging anyone to stop their present treatment. Cause this may not work either. But though this may be of interest to those who may have been through the treatment before with the same results or have questions about my experience with the interferon treatment.. PS When was the last time a Doctor hugged you?
This is ironic because I never heard the name Alan Franciscus until recently. The first time was a few days ago in an interview on the Hepatitis Connect site and the second in this thread which has the link to HCV Advocate. He seems to use the term "cured" in a different context when it comes to his own personal experience.
An Interview with Alan Franciscus of the Hepatitis C Support Project (Part 1)
Part of his response to the question: Are you still HCV positive? Did you go through treatment in the past? If so when and what and was it successful?
(Grr...the phrase "HCV positive" just bugs me for some reason. But anyway..)
"Luckily, at the end, it seems that I was one of the lucky ones with genotype 1 and I was cured with peg-riba combination. It reduced fatigue, my cognitive abilities came back and my skin rashes disappeared."
http://www.hepatitisconnect.com/hepatitis-c-articles/10-an-interview-with-alan-franciscus-of-the-hepatitis-c-support-project-part-1
Then in part III he goes on to say,"The future is so bright for people with hepatitis C. It is phenomenal that within ten years we should be able to cure if not everybody with hepatitis C than at least the vast majority of the infected population. Such a sea change was unfathomable even five to ten years ago so the landscape ..."
http://www.hepatitisconnect.com/hepatitis-c-articles/12-an-interview-with-alan-franciscus-of-the-hepatitis-c-support-project-part-3?category=raising+awareness
An Interview with Alan Franciscus of the Hepatitis C Support Project (Part 1)
Part of his response to the question: Are you still HCV positive? Did you go through treatment in the past? If so when and what and was it successful?
(Grr...the phrase "HCV positive" just bugs me for some reason. But anyway..)
"Luckily, at the end, it seems that I was one of the lucky ones with genotype 1 and I was cured with peg-riba combination. It reduced fatigue, my cognitive abilities came back and my skin rashes disappeared."
http://www.hepatitisconnect.com/hepatitis-c-articles/10-an-interview-with-alan-franciscus-of-the-hepatitis-c-support-project-part-1
Then in part III he goes on to say,"The future is so bright for people with hepatitis C. It is phenomenal that within ten years we should be able to cure if not everybody with hepatitis C than at least the vast majority of the infected population. Such a sea change was unfathomable even five to ten years ago so the landscape ..."
http://www.hepatitisconnect.com/hepatitis-c-articles/12-an-interview-with-alan-franciscus-of-the-hepatitis-c-support-project-part-3?category=raising+awareness
Oops. I wrote prior to reading your last post. Still, the theory that it may remain in some people yet their immune system fights it, doesn't mean it isn't cured in others~ right ?
The test for hep C only goes down to a certain amount which is why they say undetectable. It is indeed curable.
We use the viral load tests while doing treatment to see how well we are responding to the treatment. Sometimes, despite being UND ( undetectable) during treatment, a person after treatment ends may become detected again after a few weeks, because they never fully cleared the virus.
It definitely does not stay with a person forever.
This is not a version of malaria !
We use the viral load tests while doing treatment to see how well we are responding to the treatment. Sometimes, despite being UND ( undetectable) during treatment, a person after treatment ends may become detected again after a few weeks, because they never fully cleared the virus.
It definitely does not stay with a person forever.
This is not a version of malaria !
Cure: Really?
Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief
"... Two of the most common theories are that the virus could be lurking in the liver or in certain components of blood cells, such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)—this is the basic component of red blood cells that have one nucleus. If there is a reservoir for a virus this is the type of cell in which a virus like hepatitis C could be “hiding out.” A recently released journal paper reported on testing whether HCV can be found in PBMC’s and/or in the liver and more importantly if it is in a form that can replicate.
The recently published study by K. Fujiwara and colleagues included 11 people who spontaneously cleared the virus, 48 people who achieved an SVR with HCV treatment, and two chimpanzees that had been inoculated with hepatitis C, but resolved acute infection. First the authors proved that the hepatitis C virus could infect non-infected PBMC’s in a cell culture and that the virus was found to be in a form that could not replicate—this is a really important part of the study. Next the researchers tested the PBMC’s of people who spontaneously cleared an acute infection and people who achieved an SVR. The blood was checked for the hepatitis C virus using an HCV RNA test that had a lower level of detection of 2 IU/mL’s. What they found was that while certain parts of the hepatitis C virus could be detected, it was not the entire virus and could not replicate. Additionally, the chimpanzees’ blood was tested and in one chimpanzee that had died (not related to HCV) the organs were tested and no traces of the hepatitis C virus were found—this included blood cells and tissues as well as the liver of the dead chimpanzee.
The authors concluded that, “Residual HCV was not detected in the plasma or PBMCs of any spontaneous or treatment-recovered subjects or in chimpanzee liver, suggesting that the classic pattern of recovery from HCV infection is generally equivalent to viral eradication.”
So the question is what does this mean? The study indicates that the virus is effectively eradicated from the body. However, the authors conceded that there might be a very low level of the virus in the body that the body’s immune system can control naturally. This is in contrast to a chronic infection state where the virus produces very high levels of HCV RNA and the high levels of the virus overwhelm the body’s immune system thus preventing the body from naturally clearing the HCV...."
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsLetter/2012/advocate0812.html#1
Alan Franciscus, Editor-in-Chief
"... Two of the most common theories are that the virus could be lurking in the liver or in certain components of blood cells, such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)—this is the basic component of red blood cells that have one nucleus. If there is a reservoir for a virus this is the type of cell in which a virus like hepatitis C could be “hiding out.” A recently released journal paper reported on testing whether HCV can be found in PBMC’s and/or in the liver and more importantly if it is in a form that can replicate.
The recently published study by K. Fujiwara and colleagues included 11 people who spontaneously cleared the virus, 48 people who achieved an SVR with HCV treatment, and two chimpanzees that had been inoculated with hepatitis C, but resolved acute infection. First the authors proved that the hepatitis C virus could infect non-infected PBMC’s in a cell culture and that the virus was found to be in a form that could not replicate—this is a really important part of the study. Next the researchers tested the PBMC’s of people who spontaneously cleared an acute infection and people who achieved an SVR. The blood was checked for the hepatitis C virus using an HCV RNA test that had a lower level of detection of 2 IU/mL’s. What they found was that while certain parts of the hepatitis C virus could be detected, it was not the entire virus and could not replicate. Additionally, the chimpanzees’ blood was tested and in one chimpanzee that had died (not related to HCV) the organs were tested and no traces of the hepatitis C virus were found—this included blood cells and tissues as well as the liver of the dead chimpanzee.
The authors concluded that, “Residual HCV was not detected in the plasma or PBMCs of any spontaneous or treatment-recovered subjects or in chimpanzee liver, suggesting that the classic pattern of recovery from HCV infection is generally equivalent to viral eradication.”
So the question is what does this mean? The study indicates that the virus is effectively eradicated from the body. However, the authors conceded that there might be a very low level of the virus in the body that the body’s immune system can control naturally. This is in contrast to a chronic infection state where the virus produces very high levels of HCV RNA and the high levels of the virus overwhelm the body’s immune system thus preventing the body from naturally clearing the HCV...."
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsLetter/2012/advocate0812.html#1
I'm not sure about cancer but since you did not mention you have it than as far as Hepatitis C goes, having it often means having fibrosis at least to some small degree even if it is stage 0. Feeling fine and not having symptoms does not actually amount to a whole lot since Hepatitis C to a large extent can be asymptomatic. That means that for many of us there are no symptoms. That does not mean however the disease is not progressing. This is also why it is assigned certain epithets such as the "silent killer" and the "shadow disease."
_______________________________-
".... l-ornitina L-Aspartato and Valinir "
I Googled these meds/supplements and my cursory search did not reveal much in the way of Hepatitis C. Who knows maybe they will indeed help the tiredness you mentioned. I mean who is to say. I am not trying to rain on your parade or be a downer; rather I am just trying to encourage you to be informed about the disease itself. And what has been proven and duplicated by science to work as it relates to treating Hepatitis C.
I certainly appreciate anyone's reluctance to treat with Interferon especially given the harrowing experience it sounds like you had the first time around.
There have been tremendous advancements with Hepatitis C treatments. In fact there are all oral medication regimens in trials for Genotypes 2 and 3 that do not involve Interferon. The side effect profile is less harsh and the treatment duration is shorter. This may be the case for Genotypes 1a and 1b in the future as well. I cannot predict how soon that will be however.
In other words there is a chance that sometime in the future that you could treat with more efficacious drugs. I think I would encourage someone to investigate this prospect rather than attempting an alternative treatment that is unproven or duplicated as far as Hepatitis C goes.
_______________________________-
".... l-ornitina L-Aspartato and Valinir "
I Googled these meds/supplements and my cursory search did not reveal much in the way of Hepatitis C. Who knows maybe they will indeed help the tiredness you mentioned. I mean who is to say. I am not trying to rain on your parade or be a downer; rather I am just trying to encourage you to be informed about the disease itself. And what has been proven and duplicated by science to work as it relates to treating Hepatitis C.
I certainly appreciate anyone's reluctance to treat with Interferon especially given the harrowing experience it sounds like you had the first time around.
There have been tremendous advancements with Hepatitis C treatments. In fact there are all oral medication regimens in trials for Genotypes 2 and 3 that do not involve Interferon. The side effect profile is less harsh and the treatment duration is shorter. This may be the case for Genotypes 1a and 1b in the future as well. I cannot predict how soon that will be however.
In other words there is a chance that sometime in the future that you could treat with more efficacious drugs. I think I would encourage someone to investigate this prospect rather than attempting an alternative treatment that is unproven or duplicated as far as Hepatitis C goes.
Yeah, I am cured. But I think the confusion comes from a study, done in Spain (or France), where they dissected the livers of Heppers that had Undetected levels in their blood, and found 2 out of the 200 livers had a trace of Hep C, living in the liver...not the blood-stream~
Notwithstanding what your Canadian doctor is telling you most experts agree that Hepatitis C is curable.
Hola thanks for your email. My understanding is the virus is never cured it is only undetectable but still lurks in other organs and can come back. That's why they say undetectable - my Canadian doctor was always very careful not to use the word cured. Though I guess reinfection is always possible.(no medical procedures, blood tests, or iv drugs since procedure) And only got lucky once in the last two years. It is very difficult to contract through sex and if I did get it from that one encounter guess I wasn't so lucky lol I am very sorry about your friend who passed away. My thought is she was grasping for straws and in stage 4 as many people are when they turn to South of the boarder. My neighbour came for that reason and yes she died anyway. I have also spoken to actual people who have had very positive results with different kinds of cancer here as well as ailments which American and Canadian doctor could not cure. I have printed out your email and will pop over to the doctor and see if I can get more info. Popping to the doctor here costs $30 pesos 3$ The treatment she is prescribing 50 dollars a month. So no one is trying to rip me off here. Anyway other than the sneaking creeping virus I am in very good health. I would rather accidently get hit by a bus (which is very easy to do here in Puerto Vallarta lol they drive like madmen) than go through the interferon treatment again. My only symptoms are tired ness. If she can make that go away to heck with the virus as I have had it many many years something else will probably get me first. Will keep you posted on what she says. thanks again.
Hola thank you for your post. Don't know if I am in any stage of fibrosis. Even when taking the treatment it was all Greek to me. I had a biopsy done at the beginning of my first treatment no fibrosis just a little fatty. I have not had a biopsy done here and don't plan to. My overall health is pretty near perfect except I still smoke 1/2 pack a day. Have printed out your email and I will ask my doctor to clarify - Possibly it is just to boost my red blood cells. I have had the virus for many many years long before the tests were available.. I would rather get hit by a bus (which is an easy thing to do here in Puerto Vallarta) than go through the interferon treatment again And I think if I monitor my lifestyle my liver is pretty strong and something else will kill me first anyway. . I have printed out your email and will ask. Thanks again as I don't really know what questions too ask. (Musicians can only count to four ya know and a one and a two and a one two three four lol) Get back to with some answers to your, and now mine, questions. Thanks again.
Attached study for 78 people with hepatic encephalopathy - not hepC,
52 people had an acute event and had to stop, and 2 people died.
http://www.annalsofhepatology.com/old/PDF/vol5n4/Hp064-09.pdf
Be very very careful kickit007.
Shyrl
52 people had an acute event and had to stop, and 2 people died.
http://www.annalsofhepatology.com/old/PDF/vol5n4/Hp064-09.pdf
Be very very careful kickit007.
Shyrl
Your lifestyle after treatment could affect your health but if you were free of the virus it would not return unless you were reinfected.
Do you know of anyone who has been cured with this regime you are thinking of doing ? Have you asked the doctor for references of people who were cured doing this?
When I was diagnosed, while in Thailand, I was determined not to do interferon treatment. However, after much research including talking to alternative therapists and herbalists here in the US, I found nothing that had been proven to beat the virus other than interferon.
( That is no longer true but those meds are in clinical trial stage now and should be available within the next few years.)
A good friend went to Mexico for an alternative cancer treatment. All it did for her was reduce her bank statement by several thousand dollars and she died of cancer anyway.
My advice is to be cautious.
Do you know of anyone who has been cured with this regime you are thinking of doing ? Have you asked the doctor for references of people who were cured doing this?
When I was diagnosed, while in Thailand, I was determined not to do interferon treatment. However, after much research including talking to alternative therapists and herbalists here in the US, I found nothing that had been proven to beat the virus other than interferon.
( That is no longer true but those meds are in clinical trial stage now and should be available within the next few years.)
A good friend went to Mexico for an alternative cancer treatment. All it did for her was reduce her bank statement by several thousand dollars and she died of cancer anyway.
My advice is to be cautious.
Next month when I am ready I will begin 3 months 3x a week injections of Eritiopoyctina.
________________
I live maybe a five hour drive away from Mexico and I can attest to the fact that a lot of meds are less expensive there. The thing is treatment for Genotype 1a and 1b has changed over the years and with the introduction of the protease inhibitors (triple therapy) your chances to clear the virus might be better. It depends on a few things but this is something I encourage you to investigate. I treated with dual therapy and did not clear the virus and it was very disheartening.
Anyway, what stage of fibrosis are you?
On the web it says eritropoyetina is EPO. Meaning Erythropoieti. If this is the drug you mean many of us took this for Hepatitis C Treatment-Related Anemia during treatment that involved Ribavarin.
Will you please clarify the med you will be taking ...and what it is supposed to do on its own. Do you have other associated or underlying conditions this drug will treat.
Just want to be sure we are all on the same sheet of music ♫
♫Best of luck♪
________________
I live maybe a five hour drive away from Mexico and I can attest to the fact that a lot of meds are less expensive there. The thing is treatment for Genotype 1a and 1b has changed over the years and with the introduction of the protease inhibitors (triple therapy) your chances to clear the virus might be better. It depends on a few things but this is something I encourage you to investigate. I treated with dual therapy and did not clear the virus and it was very disheartening.
Anyway, what stage of fibrosis are you?
On the web it says eritropoyetina is EPO. Meaning Erythropoieti. If this is the drug you mean many of us took this for Hepatitis C Treatment-Related Anemia during treatment that involved Ribavarin.
Will you please clarify the med you will be taking ...and what it is supposed to do on its own. Do you have other associated or underlying conditions this drug will treat.
Just want to be sure we are all on the same sheet of music ♫
♫Best of luck♪
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Hepatitis C Community
Learn about this treatable virus.
Getting tested for this viral infection.
3 key steps to getting on treatment.
4 steps to getting on therapy.
What you need to know about Hep C drugs.
How the drugs might affect you.
These tips may up your chances of a cure.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
